The Philos Challenge
by waiting4morning
Summary: The President has noticed that Ren doesn't have a lot of guy friends and sets him a challenge... one that if he loses may mean a new pair of pink coveralls for Japan's number one actor. Light Ren/Kyoko on the side.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Inspired by a certain piece of Ren fanart I saw on deviant art, plus my own observations from the manga. No spoilers, unless you didn't know that the Heel siblings exist.

* * *

"Tsuruga-kun, Yashiro-san, won't you join us for drinks?"

"Ah, no, thank you, Director. I have an early photoshoot tomorrow…"

"We won't stay out that late, will we, Kijima-kun?"

"Of course not! Just a couple of drinks and maybe some karaoke."

Ren smiled politely, but shouldered his bag and angled his body toward the corridor opposite of the group of male actors and crewmembers were heading. "No, thank you. Maybe next time."

"Your photoshoot isn't until nine o'clock," Yashiro said quietly, so only Ren could hear. "You never sleep in anyway."

"President Takarada!" Director Ogata said, making both of them turn their heads.

The President, arrayed in sweeping golden-orange tunic and sash of a maharajah, complete with jeweled turban and a small, live monkey that perched on his shoulder, suddenly appeared at the other end of Ogata's small group of pleasure seekers. The President's all-too knowing gaze took in the small group of men and then Ren and Yashiro conspicuously separate from them. Ren and Yashiro were far enough away that they couldn't hear the low-voiced conversation that preceded to take place between the President and the Director, but the shorter man glanced at Ren with such a guilty expression that it wasn't hard to guess what the conversation was about.

"Ren," the President said, coming toward them with a grin that had Yashiro shrinking away in fear. Ren held his ground, his own smile firmly in place.

"President," Ren said with a slight bow.

"This is Momo-chan," the president said, giving a peanut to the little monkey who ate it, keeping its bright little eyes on Ren.

"So," the president continued, "I couldn't help but overhear that once again you're neglecting your social duties. Ogata-kun says—reluctantly—that this is the fifth time you've declined to go out with the cast and crew after a hard day's work."

"Sir," Ren said in his politest tone of voice, "Yashiro-san can show you my schedule right now if you wish. In fact, I have Tragic Marker shooting soon—"

"In two hours," Yashiro muttered.

"—so if you're concerned about my social life, I will be with Mogami-san for the rest of the evening."

"I'm not speaking of Mogami-san," the President said, giving Momo-chan another peanut. "She fulfills one aspect of your education in love—"

Yashiro started to giggle then turned it into an abrupt cough as he caught the stiffness of the actor's shoulders.

"... but I am afraid your lessons in _philos_ haven't borne as much fruit as I would have hoped in your time as… a member of my agency."

Ren refrained from glaring at the President with difficulty. The older man had been on the verge of revealing that Tsuruga Ren was not in fact a real person. It wasn't that he didn't trust Yashiro to keep secrets - heaven only knew the stories he could take to the tabloids about him and Kyoko - but the story of Hizuri Kuon was long and not one that he wanted to delve into, especially not to his manager who might be a little upset that he wasn't trusted with the information from the start.

"What's _philos_?" asked Yashiro, looking from Ren to the President.

"Ah! My second-favorite word, Yashrio-kun!" The President beamed. "_Philos_, a Greek word meaning the love that exists between friends and family. There's an American city called Philadelphia. It means the 'city of brotherly love.' Then, of course, there's the English word 'philosophy,' which means 'love of wisdom.' Isn't it a marvelous word?"

"Ah, yes, sir…" Yashiro said, his expression a little mystified. "What does this have to do with Ren again?"

The President plucked a tangerine from a tray that suddenly appeared at his side by the ninja-esque Sebastian and began to peel it. Momo-chan started chattering again, staring down at the fruit.

"Ren, I want you to cultivate some male friendships. It will be good for your growth as an actor and as a person."

"Sir…"

"What if you were given a role for a movie that portrays deep male friendships like… _Shichinin no Samurai_ or the American movie, The Hangover?"

"Surely you're joking, sir…"

"I've never been more serious in my life," said the President, pretending to be hurt. "You've always been given lone wolf-type roles, or roles that have only light friendship elements to them. If you're ever placed in a movie or drama with a deep friendship role, I don't think you would know what to do. You'd flounder, just as you did with Katsuki. Yes, I think I want you to go out and seek new friends, Ren..."

"Sir," Ren tried, his smile now a little strained, "I am really too busy right now to add an extra project…"

"... Or I might be inclined to make you the first male member of the Love Me section. I have had more of the coveralls made, did you know?" The President's voice was perfectly calm and he made little noises to Momo-chan as he started feeding the fruit to her, but Yashiro felt the atmosphere in the room change as if a cold winter wind had blown through the hallways of the building.

"You… would…take me out… of the acting section… and put me _there_?" Ren's voice was glacial, his gentleman's smile an angry slash across his face.

Yashiro was astonished that the President could be so calm in the face of that expression. If that had been turned on him… Yashiro shuddered at the thought.

"No, nothing so drastic as that," the President continued calmly. "You would be an… associate member, picking up Love Me duties where your schedule allows." He gave Ren a serious look. "Ren, this can all be avoided if you can prove to me you are capable of sustaining friendship with at least one or two other men that aren't Yashiro-kun." He turned to Yashiro. "My apologies, Yashiro-kun. You spend so much time with him already that it really wouldn't be fair to count it."

"No offense taken," Yashiro laughed nervously. "After all, Ren still refuses to call me by my first name, so I don't know if I can be counted."

Ren glared at him. "_Et tu, Brute_?"

The president grinned.

Ren sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Just how am I supposed to prove to you that I've cultivated male friendship?"

"I'll know," the President said with a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

Yashiro heard a chirp on his phone and tapped Ren's shoulder. "We really do have to be going, Ren. Sir," he said to the President, bowing.

As they left, Ren still bearing a rather petulant pout, Yashiro couldn't help but feel sorry for the tall actor. Ren was friendly enough to everyone, but he did seem to keep people at arm's length. Except for Kyoko, but even with her, Yashiro sometimes sensed a certain reserve, a withholding on his part. Then again, he had no idea what Kyoko and Ren were like in private… _That_ thought made him giggle.

Perhaps the President's little challenge would be good for him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Kyoko exited the stage of Bridge Rock, waddling back toward the costume room so she could deposit Bo for the evening. She still enjoyed her stint as Bo, though she didn't get to do it as often as she used to, with Box R and Setsuka Heel taking up large chunks of her time. She had Setsu tonight, in fact. She would only have a couple of hours to get ready, and getting into Setsu's gear took awhile.

She was nearly at the door to the costume room when she heard a quick step behind her.

"Ah, there you are!"

Kyoko squawked in dismay. Tsuruga Ren was coming straight toward her.

"Ts-Tsuruga-kun," she managed, heart pounding, glad that she'd kept the chicken's head on. "What-what are you doing here? You can't be backstage!"

"Sorry, I was just looking for you," he said with an embarrassed smile.

"Looking for me?" she said with a sinking feeling. "More love problems? Or script problems?" _Please say "script"..._

"Ah, well…" Ren said, looking around. "Look, can we go somewhere a little more private?"

Kyoko sighed, but obligingly walked in the direction of the little back hallway where they'd had their last two chats at Fuji TV. She was hot in the chicken costume and… and she really didn't want to hear about Tsuruga-san's girl problems. It… made her feel… strange. Not lonely, definitely not lonely, but strange.

Ren sat down on the stack of folded tables that she'd found him on the last time, and she sat down next to him, swinging her chicken legs to dispel the awkwardness that was about to descend.

"Do you…" Ren cleared his throat. "This is going to sound strange, but do you have friends? Friends that you… hang out with? That you enjoy speaking to?"

Kyoko blinked. This wasn't the type of question she was expecting.

"Of course!" she said. "My best friend and I got ice cream just the other day. It was fun."

"Ice cream?" Ren laughed. "In this chilly weather?"

"It's kind of a thing with us," she said, fondly, thinking of Moko-san. "But are you having friend troubles, Tsuruga-kun?"

"Sort of," he sighed. "It's been brought to my attention that I don't… socialize very well with other men."

"Eh?" Kyoko frowned. "But you're so friendly; everyone likes you!"

Ren smoothed some hair out of his eyes. "Well, yes, but being friendly does not equal friendship… according to _him_ anyway," he added under his breath. "I need to prove to a certain person that I am capable of having male friendships, otherwise there will be…" he shuddered, "dire consequences."

Kyoko was at a loss. Looking back on her own experiences of friendship - or the lack thereof- she wondered if Tsuruga-san's wasn't all that dissimilar. She had been shunned by girls because of Sho. Had Tsuruga-san's many girlfriends kept other men away? She actually felt a little sorry for him.

But how to help him? She couldn't very well tell Tsuruga-san to launch himself at a person who was determined to dislike him, like she'd done with Kanae. She tried to imagine him running up to Murasame and began to giggle.

But Tsuruga-san's next words stopped her laughter.

"You... You're something of a friend, right?" His voice sounded hesitant. "I don't just pour out my troubles to anyone. That seems like something you do with a friend. I wouldn't mind having a drink with you or… or whatever else it is that friends are supposed to do."

Kyoko sat silent for a moment, a confused whirl of emotions making her silent. On one hand, he'd called her "friend." The very word made her feel warm. On the other hand… she had to hurt him, and she didn't know how else to soften the blow.

"Tsuruga-kun... I... am honored that you trust me with your confidences... but the truth is, I'm... I'm too lowly of an actor to be anything but intimidated by you. A male friend should be someone you think of as an equal. If I took off this costume, I'd be too... embarrassed to behave normally. It's because I'm hidden that I feel free to speak with you as I do."

I see…" he said, glancing away. "I should have remembered. You said you hated me once."

"Ah! No, no , no! I don't hate you!" Kyoko said, bowing in abject embarrassment. She could remember that moment with awful clarity. "I like you a lot now!" She was glad he couldn't see her blushing face as she said those words.

Ren looked surprised but smiled one of his genuine smiles. "Well, thank you. That means a lot."

He put his chin in his hands, looking thoughtful. "I've been socially withdrawn from other men for so long, I've forgotten how to do it I guess." He huffed a little laugh. "That's really embarrassing to admit."

_Good grief, the man looks like a model for a magazine even when he's not posing for a shoot, _Kyoko thought, noticing the casual sweep of hair over his eyes, the pensive expression, the artful arrangement of his long arms and legs. The thought reminded her of something Tsuruga-san had told her himself when she'd been at his apartment for a crash course on modeling.

_A model is just another character, a photoshoot no different than any other camera. Models have to modify their characters all the time to suit the demands of that particular shoot. For your Natsu, what you'll need to determine is if she's the sulky, sexy, tomboy, or playful type…_

"Have you ever considered altering Tsuruga Ren?" she asked, cocking her head.

"Hmm?" He looked up at her, curious. "What do you mean?".

"Well," she said, shifting on the stack of tables, "as an actor you must be used to altering a character to suit the needs of a script and what the director wants. I've seen the old Katsuki, and your Katsuki-while similar-is completely different. You took Katsuki and made him your own: altering things here and there like a tailor with a suit of clothes." She paused. "Maybe Tsuruga Ren needs tailoring too."

He stared at her. "That… is a good idea. I'll have to think about that." He smiled. "Anything else hiding in that chicken head?"

Eager to be helpful in some way to make up for her declining his friendship earlier, she mentally skimmed through the thin list of male actors she knew of and came up with a name.

"What about Kijima-san? He stars with you in Dark Moon, right? Why not try to be friends with him?"

"Ah... well," he looked a little embarrassed. "I may have… burned that bridge."

"Eh?"

"I told him off about flirting with... with the girl I told you about."

"Really?" Kyoko flapped her wings excitedly. "The high school girl? So things are moving along then, eh?"

"Well… maybe," he admitted with a little laugh. "But I didn't come to talk about her today. The truth is I… haven't had a close male friendship since I was a teenager." His eyes grew distant and a little sad. "Even then he was less of a friend, and more of an older brother, or uncle, maybe. He encouraged me to make more friends my age…" His expression darkened, and he gripped his wrist suddenly with his free hand. "It didn't go well."

"Why not?"

He looked at her sharply then, as if weighing something in his mind. "Let's just say that at the time I was in a place that didn't appreciate the fact that I was … part Japanese."

Kyoko cocked her head. "You're only part Japanese?"

"Does it bother you?"

"No," she said drawing herself up, "I am not a racist chicken. It's just interesting that none of the gossip columnists have picked it up."

He smiled a grim smile. "Well I take care that they don't find out. It's not hard, not when I pass as full Japanese so easily."

Kyoko was silent for a moment thinking about what he'd said earlier. "I think, Tsuruga-kun, that you've had the answer to your friendship problem all along, but like a lot of things I've seen you do, you overthink it and then it becomes twice as difficult."

Ren looked at her, eyebrows raised. "We've talked three times before this…. just how many problems have you seen me over-think?"

Kyoko gulped and tried to think of a way out of her slip. "Well, um, I'm not just a regular on TBM… I have other jobs. I've, ah, seen you around," she hedged, glancing away. When she looked back, he was looking at her with a curious expression.

"What?" she asked, wary.

"It's just strange, trying to picture you outside of the chicken suit," he said, shaking his head. "I might have passed you in the hallway and never noticed. I'm sorry if I was ever rude."

"Ah, no," Kyoko said, feeling embarrassed again. _Oh man, what would he say if he knew the truth…_ "Like I said, I'm pretty low on the totem pole. I wouldn't expect the great Tsuruga Ren to notice the likes of me."

Ren hung his head with a sigh. "And there's the crux of the matter. How am I supposed to make friends if people are too intimidated by me?"

Kyoko cocked her head. "Talk to them the same way you've been talking to me," she said. "I don't mean you don't have to go spilling your guts to the first guy you see, but be… normal. Talk about normal things, even if they seem stupid at first. You might be surprised how much fun it is and if it's someone that works here, then you'll have a lot in common. Common ground is a good foundation for a friendship." She thought for a moment. "Did you fight with Kijima-san over the girl?"

"Hmm? Oh, no, not really. I just… let him know that I had some interest in her."

"Well Kijima-san seems like a pretty-easy going guy," Kyoko said, tapping her beak with a feathered finger. "I bet you could be friends with him if you tried."

"Why Kijima-san in particular?" he asked, looking confused.

"Because I know him better than the other guys on the Dark Moon cast," she said carelessly, and jumped up with a squawk of dismay as Ren's head shot up, his dark eyes seeming to see through her costume. He took a step forward, and she backstepped hurriedly, hoping she wouldn't trip.

"You… you're in Dark Moon, aren't you?"

"N-n-no," she squeaked.

Ren's eyes narrowed. "Who _are_ you anyway?"

Kyoko continued to backstep, shaking her head. "I-I have to go!" She turned and ran, headless of dignity, and didn't stop until she'd found refuge in a closet. She huddled inside, sweating profusely inside her costume, and mentally berated herself for her loose tongue.

She really had to stop running into Tsuruga Ren as Bo. It was becoming hard to keep her personal knowledge of him as Kyoko and Setsu out of their conversations. Still… she did feel sorry for him. How strange that she'd never noticed that he didn't have any friends. She supposed Yashiro was his friend, but did he count? He was his manager after all. Would they hang out if not required to by work? It was hard to say.

If only Bo-kun was real and could be his friend. She sighed. Guess this was something that Tsuruga-san would have to figure out on his own.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Thanks for the reviews everyone! This chapter brings the Heel siblings into the mix. I decided to refer to "Kyoko" only when she's out of character. Let me know if anything is too confusing

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**Chapter 3**

The next time Kyoko saw Ren was when they met as the Heel siblings for Tragic Marker shooting. It wasn't long after they arrived on set that she could tell that something was off. Or rather, his Cain was a little off, a little more vicious than usual. Nothing really bad, just more murderous glares than he usually gave. Normally, Cain was indifferent to anyone but his sister, but today it seemed as if everyone was getting on his nerves, especially Murasame.

"You don't have to spend every second of every break with her you know," Murasame sneered as the two of them stood off to the side. The rest of the crew had either gone for coffee or cigarette breaks, clumping together in little groups. Even the other actors tended to flock to each other, with Murasame as the head of the group. Cain was the only actor who regularly shunned the little entourage that Murasame had built up around himself.

Cain stared down at him, lip lifting in a curl of contempt, then pointedly looked back at Setsu, continuing their conversation in English.

"Maybe we should go back to that store after the shoot. You liked that collar a lot."

"That would be fun. It had the cutest little spikes, right?" Setsu said, drawing her finger across her throat. Cain watched her hand as it trailed across the pale column of her neck.

"Why don't you even _try _to hang out with anyone else?" Murasame tried again, his eyebrow twitching.

"Why won't he leave us alone?" Cain darted another glare at Murasame.

"Ignore him, brother," she said, drawing her hand down his arm. "He's only trying to get a rise out of you."

"Yeah, you do your job-barely," sneered Murasame, "but you don't even try to be friendly with the rest of us. Are you so high and mighty that you can't even act like a colleague? It's like you're on another planet!"

Cain's fingers clenched into a fist, but Setsu soothed him, drawing the fist into her hands. He looked surprised for a moment, then his expression softened and his fingers splayed across her cheek, tucking an errant strand of bleached hair behind her ear.

The affectionate touch also had the double effect of making Murasame stalk off in disgust

Nothing further happened after that, but she had the strangest feeling later on that Murasame's words had actually bothered Cain. Could it be that Tsuruga-san was thinking of the conversation with Bo?

Back at the hotel, he seemed restless, staring at his script without actually turning the pages. Setsu watched him for a while, then made a cup of tea just how he liked it (strong and black with a generous dollop of honey).

Walking over to him, mug in one hand, she plucked the script out of his loose grip with her free hand, turning bored eyes to the page he was reading.

"No wonder you haven't been turning the pages," she said, skimming the lines. "This is a really boring part. B.J. isn't in this scene at all."

She dropped the book a moment later when Cain grabbed her hand, pulling her toward him and suddenly Kyoko was having a very hard time keeping Setsu's face on, because Cain had buried his head in the crook of her neck. His warm breath was tickling the bare skin of her collarbone and doing very strange things to her heartbeat.

A second passed. Then another. It was all the time she could allow her inner self for a moment to completely freak out.

_His mouth… his mouth is very close to my neck. Too close; much too close!_

_No, don't think about his mouth. That is an absolutely Forbidden Area to think about! Remember Setsu! Setsu-san, come back!_

Kyoko inhaled a deep breath, slipping back into Setsu with only a little difficulty, and tentatively patted the top of Cain's dark, messy hair.

"Poor brother. Being forced to work with so many amateurs. It must be tedious here in this tiny country with its even tinier movie industry."

"Sometimes," he said, his voice muffled, "I wish we were the only people in the world."

"If that were the case, you wouldn't get to act, brother," she said, still stroking his hair for some reason. She told herself to stop, but her fingers didn't seem to want to obey.

Cain stilled and was silent for so long that she wondered if he'd fallen asleep. Setsu realized she was still holding the mug of tea in one hand.

"Umm… brother? Your tea…"

To her relief, Cain lifted his head and took the mug, cupping it between his long fingers. He stared into the liquid, his expression dark and somehow not-Cain. "I do sometimes tire of acting…"

Setsu blinked. "B-brother?"

Cain smirked and suddenly seemed more like himself. "Sorry, I mumbled a bit there. I was saying that it is tiresome acting in such a small country. Remind me why I agreed to this again?"

Setsu picked up the discarded script. "Because you couldn't get a part in _Downton Abbey_ back home."

A muffled snort of laughter came behind her, but when she looked, Cain was sipping his tea as if nothing had happened.

"Bunch of prissy bastards," he said, one eye peeping over the rim of his cup at her. Kyoko had to turn away to hide her own face then, as a laugh bubbled up in her throat.

"Setsu," he said a moment later, staring into the depths of his mug. "Do you think Murasame was right? Do I act 'high and mighty' around the cast and crew?"

She was making a cup of tea for herself, and so was saved the problem of answering immediately. Cain wouldn't care about the opinion of the other actors. Cain was supposed to be aloof and arrogant with anyone but his sister. Was this Tsuruga-san asking? But he had said "Setsu"... This had to be related to his conversation with Bo. He'd been worried about being too intimidating then too. Kyoko wondered why he had to make friends all of a sudden; it was such an odd mission and so out of the blue.

Kyoko looked up as a new thought struck her. A sudden, odd mission… the President had to be involved. And hadn't Ren mentioned something about "him" in his conversation with Bo? She stirred sugar into her tea. Why Murasame of all people? Perhaps… perhaps it was because Murasame and Cain weren't all that different. She'd heard other crewmembers gossip about the protagonist of Tragic Marker. Apparently he'd had quite the violent past as part of a gang. She didn't know the specifics of Cain's youth, but certainly a violent past like Murasame's wasn't out of the question.

She settled for answering Cain as Setsu would have if her brother would have asked so unlikely a question.

"Silly, scatterbrained brother," she said, fondly mussing up his hair as she walked back to the table. "Do you want to make friends with Murasame-chan?" she teased, sitting down in her chair and propping her feet up on the table.

He smirked. "What would you do if I did?"

"Take your temperature and send you to bed with a cooling pack," she said raising an eyebrow as she sipped her tea.

"Even if it would make my job easier?"

Setsu paused. Anything that improved her brother's life was worth investigating. "I could see…" she said slowly, thinking, "if Murasame could at least be made to show you the respect you deserve, how it might improve things on set."

Cain looked thoughtful.

"But he's such a cheese brain that you'd have to beat it into him probably," she added and stood up to take her brother's empty mug. "More tea?"

"Yeah."

Setsu glanced at him as she made her way to the electric kettle. He looked thoughtful. Was he actually contemplating her advice? When she returned with the fresh mug, however, he was back to reading his script and nothing more of the matter came up the rest of the night.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The next day, as they were waiting in the elevator of the hotel, ready to go to the morning's Tragic Marker shoot, Ren turned to Kyoko.

"Mogami-san, I'm going to try altering Cain a little today, so don't be alarmed if you notice something different at the shoot."

"O-okay…" she said, reminding herself that she wouldn't know about Tsuruga-san's presidentially imposed quest for friendship. To Kyoko, it would simply have to be the evolution of character creation, like Tsuruga-san had told her once before-sometimes there was more to a character than what was in the script. And with Cain, there wasn't even a script, just a vague outline given by Director Konoe.

On the set, she kept an eye on Cain, but he seemed no different than usual. The same taciturn expression; the same monosyllabic replies. In the afternoon they were on the side, watching Murasame and Manaka. The scene was that B.J. had set a trap to catch Murasame by placing Manaka in danger. B.J. wasn't actually in the scene, it was supposed to be the an important bonding moment for Murasame and Manaka's characters.

"Please…" Manaka gasped, her eyes watering with the fake tears she'd added with eye drops just before the scene. "Please don't leave me."

"I won't. Not now, not ever," Murasame said, gazing at her.

"Cut!" Director Konoe stood from the side where he'd been watching the monitor. "Manaka-chan, that was good. Murasame-kun, you're too stiff. You're supposed to be worried about her, focused on her, but you seem distracted-you're too focused on what's going to happen next. You know that katana is going to come through the wall and you're anticipating it."

Murasame frowned but nodded. "Okay. I'll… try it again."

But ten "no goods" later, Murasame was grinding his teeth. Sensing that the frustration wasn't helping him relax, Konoe suggested that Murasame take a break while the crew reset the scene, and Manaka retouched her makeup.

As the young actor was leaving the set, glowering, Cain caught his shoulder. Murasame whirled, arm raised as if to block a punch.

Setsu inhaled sharply but Cain was… grinning? It wasn't that dangerous grin, that one that belonged neither to Tsuruga Ren nor her brother, but it was a… smile, a wry twist of his mouth that Setsu had only seen a few times when she and he would banter back and forth about his eating habits. Was this what Tsuruga-san had mentioned about altering his character?

"What do you want?" Murasame snapped.

Cain gestured toward the back of the large room where they had mats set up to rehearse the fight scenes. "Act 2, scene fifteen."

Murasame stared at him, eyes narrowed. "You want to practice the hand-to-hand fight scene?"

In answer Cain turned and walked back toward the mats.

"Nii-san would like to spar," Setsu said, throwing Murasame a disdainful look. "You should be honored. Nii-san usually doesn't like to over rehearse."

"Ah, please… be careful," Konoe said, glancing at Setsu. "We still need to shoot the scene… if Murasame-kun gets hurt…"

Setsu looked at her brother, but he seemed in control. "It will be safe," she said, hoping it was true and followed her brother back to where he was shedding his long coat. She took it from his shoulders, draping it over her arm. What was Tsuruga-san planning? Was he going to beat Murasame senseless for dragging out the scene? She frowned. That couldn't be it. Cain was volatile, but he had to be provoked first. Then her eyes widened. He wouldn't seriously consider beating respect into Murasame, would he?

"Setsu," he said.

She looked up at him, into his eyes, and saw nothing but calm confidence. This wasn't like that first fight. He had something planned… and not anything bad as far as she could tell. Her antennas weren't picking up any anger vibes.

Smiling, she tilted her head. "Have fun, brother."

Cain's eyes gleamed. "I think I will."

Murasame was already on the mat, his stance loose and his expression hungry. He and Cain circled each other, Murasame attacking several times, but Cain always dodged. Setsu could see why. Murasame was attacking purely out of angry energy, his swings wild and uncontrolled. He wasn't following the choreographed moves at all

Finally, Cain caught the shorter man's fist, throwing it back in a way that unbalanced Murasame. Cain then flew forward, intent on attacking and the sudden movement seemed to wake Murasame from his stupor. Setsu saw the anger leave his eyes as he ducked just in time to avoid a high kick. Then she watched, eyes wide, as both men swung and kicked and blocked, their limbs almost blurred with the speed.

Setsu held her breath, her eyes on her brother, and noticed that the grin had returned. He was enjoying this. She looked at Murasame and saw that he was too. Watching their fight, it was clear that neither were going so ultra-serious as they had that first time.

"Sometimes you have to try really hard to get what you want," Cain growled, a line from the script. In the script it was supposed to be spoken softly, in an almost dead voice. But the way he said it now made Murasame's head snap up, realization crossing his face. Then he smirked. The fight became even smoother as some of the choreographed movements came back into play.

This seemed more like a test of skill than of strength; almost like… Kyoko smiled, relaxing as she realized it. That first time Tsuruga-san had taken her seriously as an actress had been one of the biggest thrills of her life, though she hadn't realized at the time. To be treated as an equal on the set was a rush she never got tired of experiencing. Cain wasn't the type of man to use regular acting as a weapon like Tsuruga-san did. In a regular scene he'd do his best, that was true, but he'd be completely focused on himself, not anyone else. But in a fight…

Cain was taking the fight as seriously as if he were on camera, and Murasame was too. She could see a mutual respect between them that hadn't been there before.

The fight ended at a near draw, as the scene was supposed to. Both men were breathing heavily, their faces shiny with sweat. Murasame was staring at Cain, his expression wary and confused.

One of the crew members who'd been watching wide-eyed on the sidelines stepped forward. "Ah, Murasame-kun, we should touch up your makeup… the director is going to be ready for another take soon."

"Sure," Murasame said. Hesitating, he took a step forward and offered his hand to Cain. "Thanks," he said shortly. "I think I needed that."

Cain nodded, gripped the other man's hand briefly and turned away to approach Setsu, who already had a bottle of water ready for him.

"Brother…"

"Yeah?" His throat bobbed as he gulped the water.

"Your skill was impressive today," she said after a moment, tearing her eyes away from the sweat that glistened in the hollow of his jaw. "You barely left a mark on him."

He shrugged. "That scene isn't supposed to have either of us winning but give the audience a small doubt that our hero can save the day."

"Uh huh," Setsu said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Are you trying to make friends, brother?"

Cain didn't answer a moment, sipping his water slowly. "I was thinking about what you said last night," he said slowly. "I think it would be best for the making of the movie if there wasn't so much tension between us. He's still an annoying cheese head," he said with a smirk, "but maybe he'll improve on better acquaintance."

"If you say so," Setsu said with a shrug.

He smiled down at her, then gestured toward the corridor that lead to the dressing room. "I'm going to get changed." He plucked at his shirt, which was damp with sweat from the fight.

Setsu stood. "Okay," she said, and followed him. Kyoko felt a blush mounting behind her Setsu mask, but did her best to suppress it. Setsu would follow her brother everywhere. Besides, it wasn't like she had to watch him get dressed. She just had to be present, that's all.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Ren stared at the door to his manager's apartment. His deadline was just about up. Would the President accept the progress he'd made? Unlikely. Ren's mouth twisted in a grimace. Maybe there wasn't any point to standing here… maybe he should just give up. The thought brought him up short. Since when did Tsuruga Ren back down from a challenge? Even when he thought he'd never get Katsuki right, he hadn't thought of giving up. He'd even made progress with the least likely person to give him the time of day. Which was why he'd done it, if he were honest with himself. If Cain Heel could turn Murasame Taira's hostility into respect, then this should be child's play.

Squaring his shoulders, Ren lifted his hand and knocked on the door.

Yashiro opened the door, clad in a tee-shirt covered by a longer-sleeved button-down with rolled cuffs, and a pair of jeans. It took Ren a moment to recognize him. In all the years Yashiro had been his manager, he could count on one hand the number of times he'd seen the older man in something other than a suit.

"Ah, Ren! I didn't think you'd come," Yashiro said, stepping back and letting the taller man enter. Yashiro's apartment was tiny in the way most Tokyo apartments were small. Ren had to resist the psychological urge to duck his head as if to avoid smacking it on a low doorjamb. One of the best investments of his own money had been the upgrade to the apartment he occupied now. He spoke Japanese without an accent, but his sensibilities about living space would probably always be American—the bigger the better.

Ren slipped off his shoes in the entryway. "I appreciate your helping me with the President's challenge. You didn't have to."

Yashiro shrugged, going to his small kitchen and opening the fridge. "To tell you the truth, Ren, I already consider you a friend. But knowing your professionalism, I didn't want to impose myself. Want a beer? Soda? Tea?"

"Tea is fine, thanks."

Yashiro took out two cans from his fridge and tossed one to Ren, who caught it and followed his manager to the sofa. The TV was on, broadcasting a baseball game. Ren had to bite back a smile. He found it oddly comforting that the same sport was widely enjoyed in the two countries he thought of as home.

"You're not imposing on me," Ren said, popping the tab on his can of cold tea. "If I've learned anything from the President's challenge, it's that I need to sometimes be forced to do this kind of stuff." He gestured at the TV. "So, I didn't know you were a sports guy."

"Just baseball, and only when I have the time," Yashiro said, his bespectacled eyes on the screen. "Ooh, nice pitch."

They watched for awhile, Yashiro making occasional comments of his own, or in response to one of the commentator's remarks.

Ren fought the urge to sigh and ask when it would be over. He'd never been interested in sports, unless martial arts counted. Acting had occupied his extracurricular time at school, and he'd never had much in common with jock types. _Still_, he thought, glancing at Yashiro, who was as far from a jock as he could imagine. _I suppose you don't have to be the sporty type to enjoy sports._

_Have you considered altering Tsuruga Ren?_ The chicken's voice wandered through his mind.

Ren sipped from his can. Perhaps this was the lesson the President had been trying to drum into him. He was doing this not because he liked baseball, but because he wanted to spend time with a friend. Even if the activity wasn't something he necessarily liked, it was important because it was important to Yashiro.

Yashiro glanced at him.

"Need something?"

"No, I'm good." Ren cleared his throat and gestured at the TV. "So that thing just now…"

"The bat hitting the ball?"

"Yeah, that. That was good, wasn't it?"

Yashiro shook his head, a mournful expression settling onto his face. "Oh boy… Listen closely to nii-san, Ren, because I'm only going to explain the honorable sport of baseball once…."

Ren grinned behind his can and listened.

#

The President's room was the picture of opulent comfort. The temperature was perfect: not too warm, not too cold. The fruit adorning the plate on the table in front of Ren could have been sculpted from wax, so bright were their colors. In the distance, he could hear music—was that a harp?

He focused on the man in front of him, who was smoking a cigarette and blowing the smoke into an air filter sitting on the table.

"So, Ren, have you made friends?"

"I believe I have sir, though you may disagree."

The President raised an eyebrow. "Elaborate."

Ren nodded and sat forward in his chair. "I decided to see what would happen if Cain Heel were to try to live peaceably with Murasame Taira, whom he has previously antagonized. Cain isn't the type of man to have close friendships, but I did accomplish establishing what I thought would be the closest male bond Cain could have: mutual respect. I think…" he hesitated, brow furrowed in thought. "I think that if I were to reveal myself as Tsuruga Ren afterwards, he might even become a true friend. The annoying kind, I imagine, but I am learning that sometimes friends aren't always those who agree with you one-hundred percent of the time. Some friends go against your grain and from these friends, you learn more about yourself."

The President beamed. "Excellent! I think I will count this toward your philos challenge requirement. My intent was to get you to experience male forms of friendship, and Cain Heel's rough idea of it must have certainly been a learning experience for you."

"Yes, it was."

"Who is the second?"

"Yashiro Yukihito."

The President sighed, shaking his head, but Ren held up a hand.

"Hear me out first, sir," he said, smiling. "I was at first determined to avoid Yashiro-san because he was my manager, but then I realized that I was nervous about trying to pursue a friendship, and that fear had to be conquered."

"Nervous? In what way?" The President put out his cigarette in a silver ashtray, which was then whisked away by a robed servant.

"I think I was fearful that if I became close to Yashiro-san on a personal level, that I might discover things about him that I didn't like. Things that would make me want a new manager, and I don't want a new manager, because he is very good at his job." Ren shifted in his chair. "But with the deadline coming up, I was running out of time. Through Yashiro-san, I learned that you don't always have to be enthusiastic about what you're doing as long as you're spending time with that person."

The President nodded slowly. "That indeed is a good lesson to learn. I am proud of you, Ren. You've learned much in a short amount of time."

"So… did I pass, sir?"

Lory steepled his fingers in front of his nose and smiled.

#

"I wonder who it is we're supposed to be meeting." Chiori looked around the room. There wasn't much to see, just endless stacks of boxes. The LME archives had recently been searched by some frantic secretaries, looking for copies of some old screen tests and scripts. They hadn't had time to replace all the boxes they'd looked through, so the Love Me girls were called in to help for the afternoon.

"Well, I know its a guy," Kyoko said, peering inside one of the open boxes still on the floor, "since the President said he could help us put the heavy boxes on the top shelf."

"I wish he'd hurry so we can get started," grumbled Kanae, pacing back and forth.

"We're early though," Kyoko said, checking her watch. "the Love Me job description didn't actually start until three o'clock."

"Well maybe we should just start without him." Kanae turned at the end of her pacing line and started back. She almost ran into Kyoko, who had stopped in the middle of her path.

"What's the big idea? I almost ran into you!" Kanae said, then trailed off when she saw Kyoko's catatonic stare. Kanae followed the horrified gaze and felt her own mouth drop open.

Tsuruga Ren, Japan's number one actor, was striding toward them in lurid pink coveralls.

* * *

**Epilogue**

"Ren, I did warn you that I wouldn't count," Yashiro said with a grimace, shielding his eyes against the glare of the vivid pink uniform.

"Well, it was a slim hope, but I don't regret spending the time with you." Ren buttoned the last button and tugged on the matching pink ballcap as he turned to face his manager. "How do I look?"

Yashiro's face twitched. "The less said the better, " he sighed. "I just hope there aren't any reporters between here and the archives…" He paused. "By the way, did you go out with any of the crew on one of their bar hops?"

"No, why?" Ren put his hand on the door knob.

"Because the President said that would have counted if you'd gone to at least one. He wanted you to socialize a bit more."

Ren's shoulders slumped and he thumped his head against the door.

Yashiro smiled sympathetically and motioned for Ren to step aside. The spectacled manager poked his head around the door, looking both ways. "Coast is clear." He opened the door wider, and bowed as he gestured Ren through it. "Your runway awaits."

* * *

**A/N: **Thanks for reading everyone! I had a lot of fun writing this. There's also one more bonus piece coming.


	6. Omake!

A/N: I thought the story was finished, but then I started thinking about what Kyoko's reaction would be and I had to write just a little bit extra.

* * *

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-"

"Kyoko-chan, really, it's okay…"

"-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Kanae and Chiori huddled together, watching wide-eyed as a torrent of tears poured out of Kyoko like a waterfall. Yashiro was trying to comfort her to no avail. Ren stood just inside the door to the archives, looking a little shamefaced. As well he should, Kanae thought grumpily. How could you just spring something like that on Kyoko?

"It's… all… m-m-my… f-fault," she hiccuped, then burst into tears again, leaving puddles on the floor as she dropped into a dogeza.

Ren dropped to one knee beside her, touching her shoulder. "Mogami-san, really, I'm fine," he said in a gentle voice. "I have no one to blame but myself. I didn't obey the President's directions."

Sniffling, Kyoko peeped up through watery eyes. "B-b-but you're w-wearing…" she inhaled a shuddering breath, "the Cursed Uniform! T-the p-press! Y-your image! Y-y-your c-c-career!" Fresh tears leaked out over her cheeks. Yashiro passed Ren a handkerchief who used it to dab at Kyoko's water-stained face.

"It's only temporary," he said with a chuckle. "No need to get so worked up about it."

Kyoko hiccuped again, her lower lip trembling. "R-really? How… how long did the President say that you had to wear… it?"

Ren glanced at Yashiro who shook his head. "I'm not sure, to be honest," he said, still smiling. "But I know it's not permanent and it'll only happen when I have time. The President isn't making me leave any of my current projects. See? It's not so bad." He chucked Kyoko gently under the chin, his expression so affectionate that Kanae had to look away or be caught in the radius effect of that heavenly smile.

"Now," he said, standing and helping Kyoko to her feet. She seemed a little wobbly, though whether it was weakness from crying so much or the effect of that dazzling smile, Kanae couldn't tell. "Let's get started, shall we?"

-end-


End file.
